‘Not just phones or PCs’: Google’s Android successor Fuchsia OS focuses on cross-platform capabilities

Google is said to replace Android with Fuchsia, a new operating system built from scratch. But what Google is really trying to achieve with the new OS? Android chief Lockheimer shares his vision.

Here’s everything we know about Google’s Fuchsia OS (AFP)

Google has finally broken silence on its Fuchsia OS, an experimental operating system said to succeed Android. At Google's recently clouded I/O developer conference, Android chief Hiroshi Lockheimer disclosed some details about the much-awaited Fuchsia OS.

As expected, Fuchsia OS will retain Android's legacy of being open-source but the company's focus isn't just shifting millions of smartphones to the next operating system. According to Lockheimer, Google's next OS will try to bring uniformity between all kind of devices ranging from phones, PCs to smart home devices. The Google executive also pointed out that the operating system is still in developmental phase.

"We're looking at what a new take on an operating system could be like. And so I know out there people are getting pretty excited saying, 'Oh this is the new Android,' or, 'This is the new Chrome OS,'" Lockheimer told TheVerge.

"Fuchsia is really not about that. Fuchsia is about just pushing the state of the art in terms of operating systems and things that we learn from Fuchsia we can incorporate into other products," he added.

It's probably the first time Google has officially detailed its upcoming operating system. Thus far, the elusive OS has always been spotted in excerpts of codes, prototype UIs and test devices. Last year, a Bloomberg report revealed that Fuchsia has been built from scratch and is part of Google's bigger mission of overcoming limitations of Android. The company had also begun experimenting with Fuchsia OS apps featuring interactive screens and voice commands on YouTube.

With smart home speakers and other Internet of Things devices becoming a hot market, Google cannot completely rely on Android to cover all kinds of products. The company is already grappling with a big fragmentation of its software which has compelled it to launch iterations like Android Go. So far, there's no word on the availability of Fuchsia OS. It's highly unlikely a reference device will be launched anytime sooner. Evidently, reports of Honor Play becoming first phone to run Fuchsia OS were not true.